Ben's Mill: West Barnet, VT

Post by **Mike Jackson** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 11:42 am

Hi all,
Every once in a while, you get to experience something that felt pretty cool when it was happening, and then later discover it was even more valuable. When I was still living in Oklahoma, I got to watch a PBS Odessy show about Ben's Mill. I managed to copy it to a Beta Max tape and watched it over and over, not only for the nostalgic angle, but also for the technical little tips in the tape. In early 1986, Darla and I packed up and went to Vermont to work with Jay Cooke in Stowe. VT. We often made little field trips into the Vermont and New Hampshire area. We managed to find the old Mill in West Barnet, VT and found old Ben in his mill exactly as I had remembered him in the video. These photos were taken in March, 1986.

Ben was very friendly...and sort of liked the ladies!

The recent auction for Rick's pulleys and grinders made me think of our old friend in Vermont. Luckily, Darla knew exactly which photo album they were in. In the PBS video, Ben went on in his daily life. People came to him to build a variety of wood and iron pieces of Americana needs, such as a hay fork, water barrel, and a sleigh for hauling wood. The filmmakers did an excellent job capturing the pace of the job and Ben's skills, along with a venture down into the belly of the mill to lubricate the bearings. While he probably had a few power hand tools, I never saw them in the video, nor were any laying around in the shop area. Everything ran off the power generated by the big wheel of the mill.

I did some searching around and located a source for the PBS Odessy tape. It sells for $19.95 plus a few bucks for postage. I STRONGLY recommend everyone here buying one for their film collection. From a few Internet reports I found while looking for the VHS, it appears Ben has passed away and the Vermont Historical Society is trying to raise funds to keep the mill from decaying.

http://shop.wgbh.org/webapp/wcs/stores/ ... &langId=-1

Buy this one! I wish is was on DVD, but VHS will do the job.
Mike

Post by **Mike Jackson** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 7:09 pm

My new copy of the VHS show arrived today and I took the time to watch it. It was like revisiting an old friend!

I had forgotten about him using a chain saw on the front runners of the sleigh, and he used a huge electric drill for the 3/4" and 1" holes he bored in the ash timbers. The film was documenting how he built the sleighs at the time, though I am sure he could have used a crosscut and rip hand saw, along with a brace and bit.

After watching the show again, I wondered why we never walked around the mill to get a shot with the pond. Looking at the photos above, I can see it was still fairly snowed in. Ben's mill was powered by water going through a pinstock under the mill, vs the paddle wheel you might imagine seeing.

Again, you should add this film to your video library.

Mike Jackson